The Boy In The Shed
by Verum Sole
Summary: Lukas was a boy who had everything, but was discontent. Matthias was a boy who had next to nothing, but was the happiest boy in the world. When the two meet after Matthias takes shelter in a shed in Lukas's backyard, will Lukas begin to view the world in a different way?
1. The Sound In The Snow

**AN: Ahhh, I'm so nervous posting this..anyway, I'm Verum! Nice to meet you! This is my first time posting on this website..so please excuse any mistakes I make..I'm afraid my writing's a bit old-fashioned, so if you see any errors, feel free to point it out!**

**(Also, I should mention that the ages in this AU are:**

**Lukas:12**

**Matthias:13**

**Emil:7)**

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**Chapter 1: A Sound In The Snow**

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It was on a bitterly cold December day when Lukas had met the boy.

It had been snowing the night before, and Lukas found he could barely take a step without a half of his lower leg disappearing into the white powder. But Emil, his beloved younger brother, had begged and pleaded to their mother to let him build a snowman, and how could he have let his defenseless little brother wander in the cold alone? So as he usually did when it came to Emil (for Lukas really was a doting older brother), he had almost immediately agreed to follow his little brother out into their backyard to play in the snow.

Now the brothers had a very large backyard, indeed. There was ample space to run around, and toys littered the ground where the brother's (usually Emil) had forgotten about them. Towards the fence there was even a nice, little swing-set that Lukas had adored when he was small, and still did secretly. It was a small child's paradise to put it in simplest terms. Well, almost. There was one part of their backyard that Lukas hated, simply because it seemed to ruin the atmosphere of children with it's adult-like presence. The big black shed.

The shed stood alone at the very corner of the backyard alone. With it's large size, it would have been an ideal place to put away all their toys they kept outside instead of leaving them all over the dirt, but both Lukas and Emil had never taken more than a few steps near the storage place, because deep down, they feared the dark shed. It was childish, really, but they did. It stood out, it was large and ominous, and Lukas was almost certain that the shed was infested with all kinds of spiders, worms, and all other nasty spineless things that crawled through this planet.

There had been times when Lukas and Emil would dare each other to go into the shed, and they'd constantly argue over who would have to go in when a toy of theirs had been punted accidentally into it, but for the most part, it was a mutual agreement between them that the shed did not belong in their backyard, and they should avoid it at all cost.

Suddenly, Lukas was torn from his thoughts about the shed as a tightly-packed snowball hit him squarely in the shoulder and nearly knocked him off his feet. He turned to glare at Emil, who stood bent over in laughter, another snowball in his left hand.

"Hey!" He huffed. His anger faded soon, however, and a mischievous grin took the place of his scowl as he bent over, cupping snow in his hands and packing it tightly. He aimed it carefully, and by the time Emil looked up, still suppressing giggles, it was too late and the snowball found it's mark in the boy's silver hair.

"Ack!" he exclaimed as he fell down. "Lukas that wasn't fair! That hurt!"

"You started it! And come on, it's a snowball it doesn't hurt that bad." Lukas retorted as he walked over to Emil. "Here, let me help you up."

Pulling him up, Lukas swatted off the remaining pieces of snow that clung to his brothers hair and clothes. Once both had made sure they had gotten the snow off of each other, Emil tugged at Lukas's sleeve, leading towards the middle of the backyard.

"Come on! You said you'd help me build a snowman! We got to get started before mom calls us in!" Emil exclaimed, already rolling up the snow they would need for the body. Watching the other, Lukas couldn't help but smile, his little brother really was cute, determined with all of his attention focused on the snow in front of him. He sighed, knowing that Emil wouldn't let Lukas leave without finishing the snowman, and bent down, deciding to work on the head while Emil finished the body.

After about half an hour had passed, the two brothers had finished the snowman and both felt very content with it's shape and size. That is, they would have been, if the snowman had a nose.

Not that it would be much of a problem, Lukas's mother had gone to the supermarket only a few days ago and he knew that they were bound to have at least one carrot to spare for the snowman.

"Emil, go inside and tell mom we need a carrot for the nose." He said, pointing towards the screen door. Emil frowned and shook his head.

"No, you go! I don't wanna go inside. I want to stay outside with snowman!" He pouted. Lukas sighed, why did little brothers always have to be so difficult?

"Come on Emil, you'll be right back out! The snowman's not going to melt that quickly." He reasoned, even giving Emil a little shove towards the door to encourage him, to which the younger only whined and dug his feet into the snow.

"Fine!" He huffed, a scowl upon his face (he really was like Lukas, right down to the facial expressions). "But you're a jerk and I hate you." Emil added as he made his way inside, with a tone that only a child with no grasp of the meaning of their words could have. Lukas scoffed at that.

Once Emil was inside, Lukas sighed and turned to the snowman, staring back into the dark grey pebbles that made it's eyes.

_"It'll probably need a scarf too, it looks kinda plain._" He thought. He would just tell Emil when he came back with the carrot. Lukas smirked thinking about the irritated look that would be on his brother's face when he would tell him to go back inside to fetch yet another article for the snowman. Not that Lukas liked getting Emil angry, it wasn't his fault that his brother could pull off such an adorable pout.

Lost in his thoughts about his brother, Lukas almost didn't notice the almost silent sound of rummaging coming from behind him, and it would have gone unnoticed had it not been for a sudden loud 'BANG!' that made Lukas nearly jump out of his skin.

Startled, Lukas quickly turned around to face the source of the noise, and froze in his place when he figured out where it had come from.

The big black shed.

Lukas didn't move, and for a few moments kept his eyes trained on the shed. What in the world was that? Did something fall over? The shed only housed a few tools here and there, and none of them were heavy enough to have made such a loud sound, so what could it have been?

The rummaging that had been barely noticeable before, was now more than audible, and Lukas could feel his curiosity growing. He checked behind him, Emil had still not come back. Why was he taking so long? Surely it didn't take that long to get a single carrot! He looked back over to the shed, the noise has stopped.

Lukas held his breath, but the sounds had ceased. Cautiously, with his curiosity finally overcoming him, he took a few steps towards the shed, ears straining to hear any more sounds. He took a deep breath as he approached the shed door. What if it was a raccoon? Oh god, what if it attacked him? He shook his head, willing himself to be as brave as a 12-year old boy could be, and was about to open the shed's doors when he heard his brothers voice from screen door.

"Lukas! I got your stupid carrot!" He called. "But mom says we gotta go in now, so come on!"

"What?" Lukas whined, momentarily forgetting about the shed. "Well..um, ask for a few more minutes. I gotta do something." He tried, not wanting to tell Emil exactly what he wanted to do. Unfortunately, Emil seemed to be having none of it.

"No. Come on, mom's gonna get mad. What'dya have to do anyway?" He questioned. Lukas stuttered a bit, before deciding he ought not to tell Emil what he'd heard, unless he wanted to Emil to get their mom, which Lukas certainly didn't want to trouble their mother, and secretly, Lukas had wanted to find out the cause of the sound by himself, without his little brother interfering.

"...Nothing, forget it." He said. "Let's go."

And with that, Lukas trudged towards his brother, deflated. He looked once more at the shed, trying to detect at least a hint that something was there.

The shed remained silent.

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**AN:Originally I planned to post this on yesterday for my birthday, but I guess that didn't happen ahah ^^'. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, feel free to review! Also, I update about once a month usually, but I'll try to update faster if this story picks up.**

**-VS**


	2. Stranger In The Shed

**AN: Sorry for the wait! With school and my general laziness, writing's usually on the back burner for me...but I'm back! And it's Spring Break so I might update more quickly. I'm going to be honest, I kinda rushed with this chapter, but I hope you enjoy nonetheless! R&R if you like it!**

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Chapter 2: Stranger In The Shed

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As the rest of the day went on, Lukas found himself glancing out the window at the big black shed every so often when he passed by it. He had studied it so many times that even Lukas's mother had questioned him as to what he kept looking for.

"What are you looking at, Lukas? Is there something there?" She asked, curious, with a hint of worry on her pale face. Lukas quickly turned from the window and faced his mother, quick to affirm that absolutely nothing was out there.

"No!" He exclaimed, a bit too quickly. "Ah.. I mean, sorry. It's nothing mom." He added, trying his best to hide any signs that she had startled him, even going as far as to offer a small smile.

His mother looked skeptical, which worried Lukas, but her eyes softened again and she returned the boy's smile, giving a small nod as well.

"If you say so." She jested, eyes bright with amusement. Turning around, she made her way up the stairs to go check on Emil, leaving Lukas all alone. He turned back to the window.

The hours passed by, and day gave way to night. Despite it not being a school night, Lukas found himself wanting to go to bed early, and so around 10 o' clock, he wished his mother good night, and went to join his little brother (who usually fell asleep around nine regardless of the day of the week) in the bunk bed that they shared. He climbed the small ladder to check on his brother, who was asleep, as expected. Climbing down, he nearly tripped and landed rather painfully on his right ankle, causing him to curse. He quickly lie down in his bed, rubbing his now sore ankle, and eventually fell asleep.

-XXX-

_He could tell from the bone-chilling cold of the night that he was no longer in his house, he was outside. How had he gotten there? He wandered about for a bit, before a large figure came into view. Squinting, the dark shadow took form and revealed itself. It was the big black shed._

_Lukas wondered closer to the shed, wanting to escape the cold desperately. He stopped about halfway there when he realized that the usually shut doors of the shed were open wide for him to enter. He was skeptical for a moment more, when another freezing blast of wind hit him from behind and he rushed quickly for the door._

_Once he was inside, he shut the door, rubbing his arms to warm them. He sat down on the floor, still slightly shivering. Suddenly,a sound emerged from the back of the shed, frightening Lukas and causing him to turn around. He immediately regretted looking back._

_A horrid creature stood, almost completely concealed by the darkness of the shed. With blood red eyes and oozing black skin, the creature cracked open chapped lips to reveal sharp, dagger-like teeth. Then without warning, the creature lunged towards Lukas._

_He screamed, but never felt the impact._

-XXX-

Lukas must have only been asleep for a few hours, for when he awoke and looked out his window from his bed, it was still pitch black and the only thing visible in the darkness was the white snow below. He tried to remember why he had woken so suddenly, had he had a nightmare? He must have, he eventually concluded, even if he didn't remember what exactly the nightmare was about. Now, fully awake, Lukas found it impossible to go back to sleep.

He tossed and turned for a few more minutes, vainly trying to find sleep once more, before giving up, deciding to get something to drink from the kitchen. Milk helped people sleep, right?

He peered out his bedroom door, relieved to find that the lights were off, meaning his mother had gone to bed and he wouldn't have to worry about getting caught for being up. Carefully, he creaked open the door and slowly began to make his way towards the refrigerator.

As he passed by the living room window that led to their patio, Lukas stopped, once again gazing out into the white blanket of snow outside. Sure enough, there stood the big, black shed, ominous as ever as it stood out from all the white. Forgetting about his drink, Lukas remained glued to his spot, the events from earlier playing out in his mind.

Was the creature who had made the noise still there? What was that creature anyway? Had it been a simple raccoon, or had it been..something else?

He remained there for a little while longer. He had wanted to see what was in that shed, but would it even be there? Plus, would he even be able to sneak outside without getting caught? He weighed his options, the drink all but forgotten. After some silent deliberation, and a quick check of the alarm, (which his mother must have forgotten to set, for it was off), Lukas grabbed a coat, took a deep breath, and stepped out into the night.

It was colder than he had anticipated, and he shivered, partly wishing he had picked a warmer coat.

"Too late now I guess." He noted.

As Lukas approached the shed, that feeling of anxiety and cautiousness pooled in his stomach once more and he briefly wondered if he should just forget the whole thing. What were the chances of the thing in the shed still being there? He should just go back inside, get a drink, and go to sleep…

No, he told himself. He shook his head, ridding himself momentarily of his cowardice. Why would he even bother going outside in the first place if he didn't truly want to see what was inside? He had to be brave. Besides, this would probably be his only chance to check out the gloomy shed for himself without any interruption, so he might as well just go through with it.

Holding his breath and closing his eyes, his hand once more found the handle to the shed. After mentally preparing himself, he turned the handle, and opened the heavy, wooden door.

He stood there with his eyes shut in caution for a few more moments, before he realized that no sound nor movement had been made. He opened his eyes, only to be greeted the pitch black of the shed.

Nothing. Nothing was in the shed. He mentally berated himself, he should have known that it'd be empty! Whatever had been in there obviously wasn't there anymore, in fact, Lukas wouldn't be surprised if it HAD been a rake or shovel that had fallen over. He sneered a bit to himself, he had let his childish curiosity get the better of him, and he claimed to be mature!

He closed the shed door, disappointing at how anti-climatic the whole ordeal had been. He was just about to head inside and go back to sleep, for now he was quite tired. He turned around, heading towards the patio door, before bumping head on into a stranger in his backyard.

Lukas froze immediately, speechless. The stranger, a young boy who looked to be about Lukas's age, took a step back and brushed himself off. He looked up at Lukas with a friendly grin.

"Hello, there." He greeted.

Lukas opened his mouth to scream.

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**AN: Terrible ending, I know. But like I said, I rushed. I'll make it up to you with a longer, better written chapter. Also, Denmark will actually make an official appearence! Isn't that great? Anyway, thank you for reading, and please review! (Also if you see any grammar that I need to work on, please tell me in the review, I'm only a 15 year old girl and I could use some work..**

**-VS**


	3. The Boy Named Matthias

**AN: "I might be able to upload a chapter during Spring Break!" Ha...hahah..I'm a piece of trash. Sorry for the wait, my depression has come back with a vengeance and I needed some time to myself...Please R&R if you like regardless!**

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Chapter 3: The Boy Named Matthias

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Almost immediately, the boy tackled Lukas in panic, hands clamping over his mouth, effectively cutting off Lukas's scream and silencing him.

"Shh, sh! Wait, please don't scream!" He pleaded, shushing Lukas as best as he could while the two struggled against each other.

After a few moments, Lukas quit thrashing, his body stilling as he looked at the boy's bright blue eyes with fear. His heart was ramming in his chest, beating faster than he could ever remember it. Despite this however, he managed to recover some fight and shoved the boy's dirty hands away from his mouth.

"G-get _off _me!" He spluttered, backing away from the other. He glanced over to the patio door and wondered if he could outrun the stranger in time to get to the safety of his house and wake up his mother. He looked back over at the boy, who was a good two feet closer to the house than he was, and while that wasn't too big of a distance, judging by the boy's build, Lukas probably wouldn't be able to beat him to the house (for he was sure the boy would try to stop him from running away, for fear of being caught).

Neither Lukas nor the boy moved for a few moments, eyes locked in an intense stare. Every time Lukas moved and inch, the other would mirror his movements, prepared to run the moment Lukas did.

"W-who are you? What are you doing in my backyard?" He questioned, courage slowly seeping back. Fortunately, the boy didn't seem to mind answering, and Lukas noticed his muscles relax a bit.

"I'm Matthias." The boy, now Matthias, answered, a small smile forming as he introduced himself. He scratched the back of his head nervously. "Ha…sorry for scaring ya back there." Matthias added, cheeks flushed. Lukas scowled.

"That doesn't answer my question." He deadpanned. "What are you doing in my backyard?" He repeated, fear now completely gone, which Lukas was extremely surprised by considering the circumstances. Matthias's smile dropped and his brow furrowed, as if he was trying to come up with an answer that wouldn't immediately incriminate him.

He remained quiet.

"Well?" Lukas pressed, preparing to bolt for his patio. He was just about to take his first step away from the other, when Matthias finally spoke.

"I..uh..I live here…sorta." He stated, as if it were the most obvious fact in the world.

Lukas stopped, and stared in shock at Matthias. A small kindle of annoyance grew in his chest and he glared.

"You, live here?!" He scoffed. "Sorry, you're mistaken, this is my house. You're not in the right place. Leave." He said boldly.

Lukas took another look at Matthias's appearance. He hair was greasy and his clothes, a brown coat and jeans worn thin and faded, looked like they hadn't been washed in long time. He didn't smell entirely pleasant either. It was beginning to dawn on Lukas that Matthias might not have a place to even leave to. He felt a twinge of sympathy at that, but nothing more.

Matthias, at last, spoke up.

"Uh, no! Wait, um.."

"What?!" Lukas was beginning to get impatient with the boy.

"I..I kinda don't got anywhere to go right now.." He muttered, scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment.

_"Well I figured that." _Lukas thought silently. "You're homeless?" He asked, already knowing the answer, but feeling the need to confirm nevertheless. Matthias nodded.

"In the meantime anyway. And..uh, well, this is kinda embarrassing but..ya see it was really cold yesterday and…I took shelter in your shed there." He admitted, nodding his over to the shed behind Lukas. "Ah! It was only for a day though, sorry about that." He quickly added, averting Lukas's gaze. Lukas on the other hand, was now staring in bewilderment at Matthias. He whipped his head around at the shed before turning back to the other, pointing at the structure.

"You stayed in my shed?" He questioned, more shock than anger lacing his words.

"It was only for a day!" Matthias repeated. Lukas shook his head, eyes never leaving the blond boy.

"It doesn't matter! You can't just..stay on someone's property without asking!" He exclaimed. Didn't this boy have _any_ parents? Someone to watch over him and make sure he didn't wander off into someone else's backyard?

"Where are your parents?" He asked more softly. However, he immediately regretted asking when he saw Matthias squirm and look down as he bit his lip. He was about to speak when Matthias interrupted and answered him.

"I don't got any." He replied, the sudden ice in his tone causing Lukas to cringe slightly. "Never met my dad, and my mom kinda..left." He explained. Matthias looked up suddenly and despite wanting to turn away from the awkward tension, Lukas found himself unable to look away from those sky blue eyes.

"Left? Ah, nevermind." He said, not wanting to press Matthias any further than he already had. "Look." He said sternly. "It's late. And it's getting cold. I'm going inside, I'm really sorry you don't got anywhere to go, but you have to leave, you're going to get caught and I'll get in trouble." He explained, turning away from Matthias's pained expression at being told to leave. "It was nice meeting you, Matthias. Bye." He said, trying to be polite to erase the growing feeling of guilt forming in his chest.

Matthias gasped and grabbed onto Lukas's coat sleeve, stopping the other from leaving.

"Wait! Please don't go! Um..listen. I was going to ask you..do you mind if I stay in your shed for just one more night? I won't cause any trouble, I pro-"

"Absolutely not." Lukas interrupted harshly. However he softened his tone immediately when he saw Matthias's face drop. "Didn't you hear me?" He asked. "We'll both get in trouble if you're caught. You'll have to find somewhere else."

"But I don't have anywhere else!" Matthias cried. "Please..I promise ya won't get in trouble , I'll take all the blame if I'm caught, honest! And it will only be for a night, I promise. Please?" He begged, looking expectantly at Lukas.

Lukas was silent. He was torn between his own selfishness, not wanting to get in trouble, and common human decency. What harm could one more night do? He sighed, shooting an angry look of resignation at Matthias.

"..Fine." He stated. Matthias's eyes lit up immediately, and Lukas put his hands out when the other moved to hug him.

"Thank you! Thank you! I owe ye on-"

"But," Lukas continued, cutting Matthias off in the middle of his sentence. "It's only for tonight. I want you gone first thing tomorrow, I'll wake you up." Matthias nodded frantically, happy nevertheless about the kind gesture.

"Hey! Wait! One more thing." As Lukas began to turn away and go back inside, Matthias stopped him once more. Lukas looked at him with a exhausted look, it was far past his bedtime ad he found he could barely keep his eyes open.

"What?" He asked. Matthias squirmed slightly.

"What's your name?" Matthias asked. Lukas was silent for a few moments.

"…Lukas. My name's Lukas." He stated. A large grin broke out on Matthias's face at the information.

"Lukas." Matthias repeated, trying out the name. "Lukas..thank you."

Lukas broke out into a run.

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**AN: A bit short admittedly, but I hope it wasn't too bad. Damn I really wish I had more time these days for writing. I'm constantly caught between school stress, personal issues, drawing, more stress etc..ugh. Well, let's hope chapter four doesn't take as long. But hey! At least Denmark finally made an appearance. Also, I am currently working on the cover for this story, and it should be uploaded by the 5th or 6th chapter.**

**-VS **


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